closed

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Soft Play Sand 20kg

Soft Play Sand. Fine grade silica sand, ideal for playing in the garden. Make sand castles and more. Size: 20kg (Approx.) - B&M Stores.

www.bmstores.co.uk

This one is a slightly darker and warmer colour than Argos. A fair bit cheaper too.

Oh wow! And it's aquarium safe? I've only heard of the Argos one being known to be aquarium safe, but if you've used this and it's okay, then it could be the one! Have you used it? Would love a pic of the tank if you could, please!

 

[Naughts]

Oh wow! And it's aquarium safe? I've only heard of the Argos one being known to be aquarium safe, but if you've used this and it's okay, then it could be the one! Have you used it? Would love a pic of the tank if you could, please!

Sorry, I've only used it in a sandpit! But if I were setting up another tank I'd have no problems using it as I'm pretty sure any play sand is thought safe and it feels the same as the Argos stuff.
At £3.49 you might just get a bag to have a look at?

 

[DoubleDutch]

The only essential hardscape I already have is this wood piece I got for cheap when my LFS closed down (sadly...) specifically with my plecos in mind. I knew they'd love the cave like curved bit as a hideaway, which is uneven and dimpled and works brilliantly as a pleco hide, and Ziggy went straight for it when I put him in the tank! lol. I also glued a buce and a Hyrophilia pinnatifida to it, so it has to stay for Ziggy and the plants.
View attachment 165309
Not a great photo I'm afraid, but was trying to grab shots of something else when he came into the open. You can just about see Ziggy on his wooden cave


Then I have my Bolbitis heudelotii glued to that chunk of dragonstone, and I also have a decent amount of dragonstone, so think I'll stick with dragon stone for the new set up since rock work isn't cheap, and I don't want it to be wasted after buying it for a tank that only lasted three months!
View attachment 165310

Sorry for terrible photo quality, gotta grab the pic when you can with a pleco, they really don't pose for the camera! Also see on the right how the cories use it as a hidey spot/committee meeting hall;

View attachment 165322

For substrate, since I think I want something lighter, yet still a colour that looks natural, I'm seriously considering Argos play sand. Much cheaper than aquarium sand, 'normal sand' colour, I've seen people like @mbsqw1d (hey dude!) grow beautiful plants successfully in it, and fine enough for cories. Not sure whether it would work well in a layered height scape though?

Also spotted this red sand that appealed to me - but it's labelled for reptiles, and no idea whether it would be aquarium safe... says it's collected from the desert...
View attachment 165325

Also looked at Unipac options briefly.. I really wish the sample photos also showed the sand when it's in an aquarium! Looking at photos online doesn't work at all to show you how it would look in a set up, since it can look wildly different based on computer settings and when it's just a small square close up of the sand. Going to have to visit some stores and see it in person I think. Possibly go for Unipac Maui fine quartz;

View attachment 165327​

Or Unipac aquarium silica sand
View attachment 165329

Niceeeee.
Hahahaha Quarts and Silica is the same thing. I like the look of Limpopo btw.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Niceeeee.
Hahahaha Quarts and Silica is the same thing. I like the look of Limpopo btw.

That was one thing I meant to ask - why are they labelled quartz and silica? Isn't all sand silica sand? lol. I wanted to ask @Essjay if there's some difference. Do you know if either would affect water parameters? Or are they inert and just fancy names to sell them?

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Niceeeee.
Hahahaha Quarts and Silica is the same thing. I like the look of Limpopo btw.

Would you personally keep the black limpopo sand then? I do like it, I'm just finding the bronzes and blacks getting a bit lost against it! But perhaps if the rest of the tank is lightened up, it wouldn't be so bad. Would save money too, substrate ain't cheap! I have used it in other tanks and liked it, and recommended it to others - I'm just not sure it works in this tank, with the darker cories?

 

[Essjay]

Sand and silica are both SiO2. I suspect unipac give them different names as they are different colours. 'Silver sand' and 'aquarium silver sand' are also a lot finer than 'silica sand', another reason to give them different names.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Sand and silica are both SiO2. I suspect unipac give them different names as they are different colours. 'Silver sand' and 'aquarium silver sand' are also a lot finer than 'silica sand', another reason to give them different names.

Brilliant, thank you! So it is just normal, inert sand then?

Can you remind me again which sands can affect water parameters and that I should avoid, please? I know to avoid marine sands and 'live' sand, but that's all I remember!

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Sand and silica are both SiO2. I suspect unipac give them different names as they are different colours. 'Silver sand' and 'aquarium silver sand' are also a lot finer than 'silica sand', another reason to give them different names.

Wait wait.. are the "silver sand" and "aquarium silver sand" different from each other? I thought it was the same product

 

[Deleted member 149562]

I prefer dark substrates myself but it can "lose" darker fish too much

So I have mixed this...

Hugo Kamishi Black Glass Gravel | Hugo Kamishi

hugokamishi.com

and

Hugo Kamishi Natural Gravel 1-2 mm | Hugo Kamishi

hugokamishi.com

My Cories are doing a magnificent job of mixing them further and its easy to maintain too. I have used this mix in my aquariums for years...darker areas show up the bright coloured fish and lighter/mixed by fish areas show up the rest

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

I prefer dark substrates myself but it can "lose" darker fish too much

So I have mixed this...

Hugo Kamishi Black Glass Gravel | Hugo Kamishi

hugokamishi.com

and

Hugo Kamishi Natural Gravel 1-2 mm | Hugo Kamishi

hugokamishi.com

My Cories are doing a magnificent job of mixing them further and its easy to maintain too. I have used this mix in my aquariums for years...darker areas show up the bright coloured fish and lighter/mixed by fish areas show up the rest

pic, please!!

 

[Deleted member 149562]

pic, please!!

 

[Essjay]

According to Unipac's website, silver sand is more orangey that aquarium silver sand. And silver sand is 300µ to 400 µ while aquarium silver sand is 150 µ to 250 µ. Because of the colour and size difference, they had to give them different names.
(µ = micrometre, one thousanth of a millimeter, so they are saying 0.3 to 0.4 mm and 0.15 to 0.25 mm)

The substrates that alter water chemistry are made of calcium carbonate - sand or gravel made from coral, limestone, aragonite, dolomite etc.

 

[Essjay]

I used to use B D Trading sand which I bought form a not terribly local shop

B.D Sand

www.barlowsaquatics.co.uk

But during the first lockdown I realised I'd lost a lot and it was getting thin. I wasn't even sure that the shop was open for business, and my husband was unwilling to drive me there, and I couldn't find any on-line at the time (it's available now though) so I bought a different sand and now have BD on the bottom and Samoa fine sand on top.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

According to Unipac's website, silver sand is more orangey that aquarium silver sand. And silver sand is 300µ to 400 µ while aquarium silver sand is 150 µ to 250 µ. Because of the colour and size difference, they had to give them different names.
(µ = micrometre, one thousanth of a millimeter, so they are saying 0.3 to 0.4 mm and 0.15 to 0.25 mm)

The substrates that alter water chemistry are made of calcium carbonate - sand or gravel made from coral, limestone, aragonite, dolomite etc.

You're the best! Thank you so much for the help!
Unipac really should have given them different names, called the orangey one "honey sand" or something to make them obviously different. I thought the "aquarium" was just labelling it as for fish tanks, you know, and the name differences just different outlets listing the full description or not.
Luckily I still have some of the sand I use in the pygmy tank in the bag, and it's the Aquarium silver sand I have! So I could in theory go for the warmer toned silver sand in this newer big tank. But colour wise, it's not that different from the Argos play sand, which is considerably cheaper! So I should probably just go for that...!

Will be good to see the pics @mbsqw1d has! But @mbsqw1d , I've been hoping I might be able to build the substrate so it has different heights, do you think the play sand would work for that? Or is it so light that the cories are likely to sweep it all down to the lowest level?

@Wills How did you get on with using the mesh bags filled with soil in your new set up? If you have any MD fishtanks or Green Aqua vids that you think are especially good for learning how to built height into the substrate, would love to see them! I'm nervous about doing it, but would be best to learn how and decide on an approach before buying a substrate I think.

 

[mbsqw1d]

You're the best! Thank you so much for the help!
Unipac really should have given them different names, called the orangey one "honey sand" or something to make them obviously different. I thought the "aquarium" was just labelling it as for fish tanks, you know, and the name differences just different outlets listing the full description or not.
Luckily I still have some of the sand I use in the pygmy tank in the bag, and it's the Aquarium silver sand I have! So I could in theory go for the warmer toned silver sand in this newer big tank. But colour wise, it's not that different from the Argos play sand, which is considerably cheaper! So I should probably just go for that...!

Will be good to see the pics @mbsqw1d has! But @mbsqw1d , I've been hoping I might be able to build the substrate so it has different heights, do you think the play sand would work for that? Or is it so light that the cories are likely to sweep it all down to the lowest level?

@Wills How did you get on with using the mesh bags filled with soil in your new set up? If you have any MD fishtanks or Green Aqua vids that you think are especially good for learning how to built height into the substrate, would love to see them! I'm nervous about doing it, but would be best to learn how and decide on an approach before buying a substrate I think.

Hey, so i found a vid of the early days of the play sand:

And this is how its looking today:

I've never really tried the building of slopes in the sub as much as i do like it. I think it will need some maintenance to begin with, if you're putting in some heavy root feeders into the back then they'll eventually anchor it i would have thought? The cories arent that heavy handed, i think your plecos will do more disruption